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Monday, June 4, 2012

Why I Need Community

This weekend I was reminded of how much I need meaningful friendships in my life. I don't need to have a hundred friends, but I do need a few people who truly know me and believe in me. Often the pride in me (and my American culture) wants to say, "no, be independent. You don't need anyone to thrive. If you truly let people in, you're weak." But that is a total lie. We need people, to live, to grow, and to become more like Jesus.

The following pictures are from a party that our Youth With A Mission base had on Sunday. We were celebrating God's faithfulness to our ministry over the years!

Earlier this year I convinced myself that I didn't need people. I was going through a hard season, and it felt easier to not share my real feelings. I put on a brave face, and essentially shut people out for a few months. I thought I was protecting myself, but it didn't take long before my heart was ready to explode. By shutting people out, I was hindering any growth that could have happened. I was unable to see the good things that God was doing in my life because all I could focus on was myself. Fortunately the Lord (and my husband) confronted me and I realized the stupidity of what I was doing.

I think that Jesus' disciples/the early church were pretty smart in how they chose to intentionally invite people into their lives. They celebrated together, they mourned together, and they were real with one another. They encouraged, challenged, and pushed each other. And with the help of the Holy Spirit, they became like Jesus together.

I don't think that it's wise to tell everyone every personal detail of your life in an effort to be vulnerable; I do see the Godliness in having some friends who are committed to being real with each other. There is health and security in sharing your heart with people who will pray with you, celebrate with you, and cry with you. Isolating yourself in your struggles is not the way to go - I'll tell you that from experience!

I don't pretend to have it all together in this area. I really want to become more like Jesus, and from the examples that have been set before me, I see that I need a community of family and friends around me in order to do that. Proverbs 27 says, "as iron sharpens iron,so one person sharpens another." I want to be sharpened! Even though it's easier to hide my struggles (or even the dreams that God is birthing in my heart!), I want to let others in. I want to blossom and become more like Christ. And I want to help others do the same.

If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

(If you'd like to see a tutorial for how to make the beautiful jute twin bottles pictured above, check out Jenn's blog. Her and a crew of ladies decorated for our base's party and did a spectacular job!)

2 comments:

Totally agree with you. Our community is like a family, not perfect it is true, but absolutely essencial. I really love my community and to spend time with them definetly makes me grown! Thanks for sharing it :)

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